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It’s not exactly…premature to shut down the porn industry. In fact, the pregnant pause they took to decide whether they should shut it down is late, period.
According to industry trade called XBiz, an adult-film industry lobby group called Free Speech Coalition is calling for a complete shutdown of all productions in the face of the growing coronavirus pandemic.
Here’s a portion of their statement:
FSC is calling for a voluntary shutdown of all adult entertainment productions in the United States and Canada through Tuesday, March 31.
In accordance with the recent order from the Governor of the State of California to close all “non-essential businesses,” and similar orders from other government officials throughout the United States and Canada, we ask that producers cancel all shoots through March 31, and recommend that performers immediately stop filming with partners who are not a part of their household. We do not take this step lightly.
We ask that all members of the adult industry stay home as much as possible, leaving the house only for necessities. We all must do our part to flatten the growth curve of this global pandemic.
PASS will remain online. While we are calling for an immediate halt to production, we do not want to compound the situation by removing a critical tool for safeguarding the health of our community. We will not penalize talent who send their test results to PASS, nor will we penalize anyone who logs in to PASS to check test results.
Coronavirus is affecting all types of businesses and employees and this industry is no different. In fact, like many waiters, bartenders and other service workers, professional sex actors are considered independent contractors and thus may not have health insurance. Contracting the coronavirus could potentially put them out of work for weeks. Luckily camming sites and social media like OnlyFans can help keep them afloat says FSC spokesperson Mike Stabile:
“We’ve been encouraging this from the beginning, and expect we’ll see a shift in this regard,” says Stabile, adding that several companies have offered to help on-board or promote porn performers who wish to move over to those platforms in lieu of shooting. “This is an unprecedented situation, and like all industries, we’re going to have to find a way through this, and help our performers and producers survive,” he says.
We hope the adult film industry heeds Mike and FSC’s call to cease. There’s plenty of porn already created. We can do without Screaming Sorority Sisters 69 for a while.